Page 50 of Fatal Deception
Audra blinked back tears. What a failure this was. “I wish you wouldn’t.”
Rosalie fixed her with a stern expression through the computer. “I’ve had a three-week tour of Europe with my exceptionally hot husband. Who can certainly afford to change our plans. Feeling guilty I didn’t get the last week is stupid and insulting. Where’s Franny? I want to talk to her too.”
“I… She’s in Washington.”
Rosalie’s expression went to furious. “Damn it, Audra. Tell Franny about this. You shouldn’t be alone when someone is… I don’t know what this is. Petty pranks? Except it’s causing damages. You cannot be alone. Go stay with Norman and Natalie.”
“No.”
“Audra.”
“Rosalie, I’m not here alone. I have everything handled, like I always do. I have involved any authority who needs to be involved, and nothing bad has happened to me. I’m not in anydanger. It’s just…something. The right people are looking in to it, and I am fine.”
“If you’re not alone, who’s staying with you?”
When Audra didn’t answer right away, Rosalie’s eyebrows went up and she leaned forward. “This is serious enough that you’ve got the police staked out at the ranch?”
She couldn’t let Rosalie think that, not that she wanted Rosalie to think other things. She just… Oh, she hated Copeland for putting her in this situation. “That’s not exactly it.”
“What exactly could it…” Rosalie trailed off, her eyebrows still drawn together in a confused kind of expression. Then she leaned even closer to the screen, lowered her voice to a whisper.
“You and Copeland?”
Audra flicked a glance at him over the screen. He was in the same exact position. And she felt…a million conflicting things.
“No. Yes. Sort of.” She shook her head, irritated she was so mixed-up. “I can’t have this conversation with you while he’s glaring at me from across the room.”
“Copeland Beckett, if you hurt my sister, I’ll gut you like a fish,” Rosalie shouted, as if he couldn’t hear everything that was going on anyway.
Copeland sighed, walked over and took a seat next to Audra so he was in the frame. “Don’t worry, she’s bound and determined to hurt herself before anyone else gets a chance.”
Rosalie scowled. “Sounds about right. We’re on our way home. You both better be in one piece when we get back.”
“It’s a promise,” Copeland said, all cop seriousness. But the hand he put over hers on the couch wasn’tcopat all.
Audra didn’t know how she could be so bone-deep angry at him…and still want to lean into that touch and him and believe his promise held weight.
When she knew exactly what believing did.
COPELAND SAT ONthe couch, waiting for Audra to yell at him once she’d carefully closed the laptop after saying goodbye to Rosalie.
But she only sighed. “Well, I hope you’re happy,” she muttered, pushing to her feet.
Copeland’s gaze followed her, but he didn’t get off the couch. He didn’t know what part of the conversation she was referring to, but it didn’t matter. “I am.”
She didn’t say anything. Didn’t lay into him. She just got that very prim, cool look about her. “I suppose we should eat some lunch.”
It reminded him of last year, when Rosalie had been in the hospital getting stitched up and he’d gone in to give her an apology. Audra had watched him like he was the gum she’d scraped off her shoe.
It didn’t bother him if she looked down at him in this moment. He’d done what was right, and if she wanted to get all prissy about it, that was her choice.
But he saw the anger flashing in her eyes that she was trying to hide. So he leaned back on the couch, crossed his arms behind his head, adopted his best dispassionate tone.
“You can tell me how you feel about it. It won’t change anything, but a good yell or tantrum might make you feel better.”
She blinked once, a flicker of her anger deep in her eyes before she iced it away. “Tantrum,” she echoed.
“You can call it a lecture if it’d make you feel better.”